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ALEX MARVEZ ON THE DOLPHINS

August 12, 2001|ALEX MARVEZ ON THE DOLPHINS

The reclusive Jimmy Johnson is scheduled to make a rare appearance Thursday at Dolphins practice in Davie.

Or should I say a San Diego Chargers practice?

Johnson, who has made just a handful of trips to Dolphins headquarters since retiring after the 1999 season, appears just as interested in seeing the Chargers as his former team when the two franchises conduct joint practices Wednesday and Thursday.

Johnson has been more involved in shaping the Chargers lately than the Dolphins.

When San Diego was plummeting toward a 1-15 record last season, Chargers President Dean Spanos met with Johnson at the latter's Islamorada home for advice about what steps the franchise should take to turn things around. Johnson also joined Chargers management during the offseason in three days of brainstorming and socializing at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

Johnson and Spanos declined to comment on their working relationship. But Spanos did shed some insight in July in the North County (Calif.) Times.

"I've known Jimmy for a lot of years, but never socialized with him [or] been close, close friends," Spanos told the newspaper. "I asked him his opinion in terms of how an organization should be run in the relationship between coaching and player personnel and what his philosophy was because he was really the general manager and coach in Dallas and in Miami."

Johnson advised Spanos to get the best general manager available, which was done in January when John Butler was hired after leaving Buffalo. And who knows what, if anything, Johnson said to help get Norv Turner hired as San Diego's offensive coordinator. Turner, one of Johnson's assistants before becoming head coach in Washington, appears in line to succeed Mike Riley if the Chargers don't show some improvement under his watch this season.

This isn't to say Johnson has totally abandoned the Dolphins. Dave Wannstedt speaks regularly with his coaching mentor, including a conversation Wednesday to discuss the Dolphins' performance in Monday night's 17-10 exhibition loss to St. Louis in Canton, Ohio.

Wannstedt said he wasn't surprised or dismayed that Johnson did some consulting work for the Chargers. Wannstedt pointed out that Cleveland Browns executive Carmen Policy also called last year for a scouting report when considering Butch Davis, another long-time Johnson assistant, to become that team's head coach.

As every University of Miami fan knows, Davis got the job.

"I think Jimmy is so respected in the NFL," Wannstedt said. "People know when it comes to personnel and seeing the big picture, he's proven that nobody's better.

"He's got a good rapport with Spanos. I think it's smart of [Spanos] to call him. For Carmen Policy to call and pick his brain up in Cleveland when he was considering Butch, I think that was smart. And I'm sure he gets a lot more calls from other teams that don't become public knowledge."

Although one of his closest friends, Wannstedt doesn't know whether Johnson would ever want to return to the NFL as a coach or general manager.

"I really can't answer for him," said Wannstedt, who was brought to the Dolphins as Johnson's assistant head coach in 1999. "I would think not. Would he eventually do something with football involvement with a club or TV? I couldn't answer it. I know he still follows it and keeps abreast of what's going on."

If nothing else, Johnson's appearance Thursday will serve as a reunion for some very close friends. Wannstedt, Turner and Dolphins offensive line coach Tony Wise all served under Johnson on the Dallas Cowboys team that won Super Bowl XXVII.

"That will be strange," Wannstedt said. "He could have some flashbacks. A couple of Heinekens and there's no telling."

No new inductees

The Marks Brothers will have to wait at least another year for induction into the Dolphins honor roll.

Dolphins President Eddie Jones said no members will be added this season to the team's 13 other honor-roll selections. Instead, honor-roll member Nick Buoniconti will be honored for his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction at halftime of an Oct. 7 home game against New England.

When inducted last year, ex-quarterback Dan Marino lobbied for wide receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Duper to join the honor roll. Clayton and Duper are the two leading receivers in franchise history, combining to catch 1,061 passes for 17,512 yards and 140 touchdowns in the 1980s and early 1990s.

So why aren't they in? One major reason is that Clayton hasn't endeared himself to the honor roll's selection committee with his distant behavior toward the team since retiring. And at this point, the Dolphins don't want to induct one while excluding the other. ...

Because of early publication deadlines, NFL preseason magazines often feature outdated or inaccurate information. But there's no excuse for two glaring mistakes involving the Dolphins in Street and Smith's preview issue.

In the team-by-team analysis, Calvin Jackson is listed as the Dolphins' starting strong safety with Brian Walker as the nickel cornerback. Jackson hasn't played for the Dolphins since 1999, while Walker should have made a name for himself as the starting strong safety last year after logging a team-high seven interceptions.

The other gaffe is a photo that is supposed to feature the defense instead shows ex-special teams coach Mike Westhoff addressing his unit. That should amuse members of Dolphins management who believed Westhoff tried to take too much credit while coaching with the team.